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Tag: At Dusk

“Are you sure we should be here?” Alice Cullen asks as she glances over at her brother.

“We need to warn her,” he answers. “It’s the only fair thing to do.” Alice rolls her eyes as she crosses her arms.

“But really, warn her here? In front of everybody that she knows who isn’t supposed to know a drop of her world?” Edward knew the timing could’ve been better, but he wasn’t about to waste any either.

“I’m sure we can find some quiet time, and you can be here since you have that pass.” Alice looks down at the pass around her neck, reading it over, before letting it go and rolling her eyes. She still wanted to know how Edward had gotten it for her quickly.

“Why doesn’t Danny or Yolanda do this stuff?” Edward knew the answer, obviously, having spoken with Danny.

“It’s called they’re babysitting Melody and she can’t be around humans right now. Hello full moon time, hello random changing. Do you want to scare everybody and make them thing Keselowski is an alien?” Alice thinks it over, having some doubts over Brad. It wasn’t that too shabby of a plan.

“Hey….” Brad says as he opens the door, glancing between the pair confused. “I wasn’t expecting guests this weekend….” Edward walks past Brad, with Alice following in toe. “Don’t I get any explanation?”

“Shut the door,” Edward states as he glances between Juliette and Brad, both looking at him with confused glances. Brad closes the door as requested, before focusing his eyes on the pair.

“You don’t normally come around….” Alice shakes her head no, not really having any desires to deal with vampires after the first round. “Why are you here?”

“Because she came with me on an important assignment.”

“Assignment?” Juliette questions and Edward shakes his head yes.

“You see visions of the future….” Brad recalls and Alice shakes her head yes this time. “Why don’t I like this idea at all?”

“Because perhaps it means danger is coming your way and you’re scared,” Alice comments as Brad lets out a sigh. He knew it was never good to see her. “Alright, look. Word has spread that you guys are set to get married in a month and that obviously doesn’t sit well with people. Needless to say, there’s some vampires who are out to find you and well, destroy you.”

“How did you come across this information?” Brad wanted to laugh it off, believe it was just another random scare.

“How the hell am I supposed to protect him when we’re busy with our lives?” Juliette demands, feeling a shake of fear as she knew what the people were capable of.

“The message was dropped off by a fellow mate who knows the group but actually likes you,” Edward informs Brad. “He told me it would be wise for me to warn you. So here I am with your warning, sir. As far as protecting him, just be careful and watchful. They’re not going to strike during the day so just watch what you’re doing at night and who you’re hanging around. Oh, and never go anyplace alone.” Juliette glances over at Brad as he rolls his eyes.

“He’s serious, Keselowski,” Juliette says with a stern voice.

“I have seen visions of a meeting with a deadly consequence,” Alice starts. “People in a room, discussing, plans of death for someone else. Needless to say, this fits that vision adequately.” She then pulls out a piece of paper, handing it to the pair. “Those are the people I see. Stay far from them.” Brad and Juliette unfold the piece of paper, looking at it together. They couldn’t place the people anywhere from the drawings.

“Thanks….” Juliette didn’t want to be comfortable with the news, given the danger that she knew laid over their heads.

“We must be going. But we thought we should tell you. Goodbye.” Alice and Edward then head for the door together.

“You’re not even going to stay for the race?” They look back, shaking their heads no. “That’s crazy!”

“We got things to do, people to see. We just wanted to protect you.” Without another word, the pair left the motorcoach, leaving Juliette and Brad standing there, facing each other in silence.

“We’ll be fine,” Brad says quietly as he reaches out, pulling her close and kissing her forehead. “We’ll be fine. I love you, and I’ll do whatever it takes for you. We’ll be fine….”

***************************************

Brad laces his fingers with Juliette as they head back to the motorcoach lot together. It had been a great day at Pocono Raceway. He had a solid finish, and watched one of his good friends Ryan Blaney snagged his first career victory. Needless to say, they also knew it’d be a late night with the party about to ensue.

“Looks like we have a party to go to,” Brad comments as they reach the motorcoach. “I know you’re missing Melody so you can go see her with Danny, and I’ll do the party alon-”

“There’s no way in hell that I’m letting you out of my sight!” Juliette cuts him off, causing Brad to spin around instantly. “You heard what Alice and Edward said. They’re also most likely to strike at night. Perfect opportunity while you’re drinking your ass off with Dale and Ryan, and not aware.”

“So you’re coming to play bodyguard?” She shakes her head yes.

“Besides, I know Ryan just as well as you do. Don’t you think I deserve to come? Danny will understand.” Brad lets out a sigh, agreeing to it as he goes to the back to get changed.

“You know, you still owe me one….” She then smiles as she walks down the hall, leaning against the door frame. “You said that having a weekend alone, you’d offer me what I wanted more than anything. I haven’t seen that yet, sweetheart.” She then smiles as she twirls a piece of her hair with her finger. “I’m still waiting….”

“I did say that I owe you one, but I didn’t say this weekend or today, now did I?” Brad turns around, grin forming on his face as he walks right up to her.

“Yeah, but I know you want me…” He then slips his finger down her pants, running it along her slit. “You’re all wet and juicy and wanting me. You want me. You want all of me. You just don’t want to admit it.” She feels herself craving to his touch, almost kneeling over in slight as he pushes his finger inside of her.

“Bradley….” He smiles, hearing her purr his name.

“Yes Juliette?” She then lets out a low moan as she pulls him closer to her.

“Stop being a little tease and get the deed done. We have a party to get to, remember?” He smiles, continuing to push his fingers inside of her.

“I remember….but a party for two sounds so much better….” She couldn’t deny those words.

“Bradley, stop teasing….”

“Why sweetie?” He then leans in, kissing her lips, as he continues to fondle inside of her.

“Because I need you…..” He then backs up a little, smiling.

“I thought you’d never say those words.” He then kisses her lips once again, before moving his tongue down to her, licking the entire way, sucking ever so lightly where the scar from the bite mark remained.

“A deal is a deal….”

“So you’re finally craving….” He then goes back to sucking her neck as she feels herself reaching out, craving him, thirst building in her mouth.

“Bradley…..” He then moves down her neck to her shoulder, slipping the strap off from her tank top, before licking and sucking there, too.

“Yes?” He then repeats the process on the other side.

“Why are you making this so damn hard? I thought you wanted this more….” He then laughs, enjoying the tease he was creating.

“Because I want to make it worth your while and wait…” He then slips her tank top up, pulling it off. He reaches around her back, unclasping the bra before sucking one of her nipples.

“Bradley….” There was no holding back the moans anymore, as she badly wanted to move over to the bed.

“Didn’t you try to talk me out of this? Have you changed your mind?” He then switches the sides.

“Oh gosh yes…..”

“So now you want me?” He then picks her up, carrying her over to the bed, laying her back on it, before climbing on top of her and continuing where he left off.

“Bradley….” He then lets his tongue move down to her belly button, doing a circle around it as a giggle escapes her lips.

“Ticklish, are we?” She didn’t need him having any distractions.

“Keep focus…” He then lets his tongue roam down further, licking her along the waist line. “Damn Bradley….”

“What’s wrong my little vampire? Are we thirsty for something?” A small growl escapes her lips as a response to the question as he slips her jeans off, followed by her underwear.

“Just already, please…” He then goes along her waist again, before down her thigh and back up, while placing a finger back in her slit. “Bradley….”

“What do you want, Juliette?” She then reaches for him, pulling at his firesuit, followed by his underwear, stroking his cock.

“You know what I want, jackass.” He then looks at her in surprise.

“Desperate, are we?” She then lets out a moan, stroking him once again.

“Please…..” He then pulls his fingers out, smile crossing his finger as he moves his cock closer, brushing it along her slit, moan escaping her lips. “Please Bradley, please….”

“Your wish is my command….”

******************************

The pair walk up to the front door, glancing at each other with a smile, before opening it and going inside. They had arrived an hour later than they had anticipated due to their extracurricular activities, but neither was going to let the smile disappear off their faces in response.

Brad walks into the motorcoach, smiles as he sees Juliette curled up on the couch, glancing over something.

“Do I want to know what you’re doing?” He questions as she lets out a chuckle.

“Figuring out the final piece of our wedding,” she answers as he looks on surprised. He didn’t think she’d ever get through her planning, but knew better late than never with the date set for next month.

“Oh, really? So you figured out the idea for our ceremony?” They had broken down the werewolf traditions together following Brad’s discussion with his parents, followed by figuring out the vampire traditions, courtesy of Edward. Juliette had everything mapped out on a page, trying to twirl together the best of both worlds in a sensible fashion.

“I think I have it down to a science, and I think that you will approve.” He sits beside her after slipping out of his firesuit, glancing through the notes that she made. It honestly wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be.

“I can handle this, I think….” She then chuckles as she thought there’d be objections with some of the steps. However, it was nice to be on the right track for once.

“Now, it’s just our wedding vows. Do you want to go traditional, proper, or make our own vows?” He thought it over, nerves flowing. He could easily write himself a blog on the website and pour his feelings out. He was also good at expressing himself with ease. However, telling her how much he loved her in front of everybody? That may give him stage freight.

“What do you think?” He didn’t know whether it was a good idea or not to give the option to her. Knowing how girls worked, he could see what was coming – hence the scribbled notes on the paper underneath what he had just read.

“I like the idea of our own vows. It’ll just make the wedding that much more special.” He then lets out a sigh, knowing there was no choice now.

“Then that’s what we’ll do. I’m fine writing my own.” She then smiles, glad, as she had already put in a half hour of trying different things.

“So why don’t you go grab a shower so you’re not so stinky, and I’ll make us something for supper? Then we can see how the boys make out in Texas tonight.” A sly smile forms on his lips.

“I thought maybe you’d like to join me for the shower.” Her cheeks immediately flush red as he pulls her close, kissing her lips. “We got a weekend with just us since your brother is watching Melody. Why don’t we take full advantage of that?”

“Careful puppy, you’re bound to get me pregnant with another one of your crazy wolves…” He then chuckles as he wraps his arms around her to keep her held close.

“And what’s wrong with that?” She smiles, knowing that she wouldn’t mind a second child – just not right yet. She wanted to get through Melody’s stages of growth, first.

“Nothing at all. But, for now, I say we stick to the plan….” He lets out a sigh as he lets her go, getting up off the couch. “You’ll be the one all grumpy if you miss the start of the truck race…”

“We could always do the shower together, and go for a smaller dinner than normal?” She then gives him a small push as he looks back with a grin. “Come on….”

“I want to finish up this first, okay?” He lets out a sigh, pouting a little. “Brad…”

“Juliette….” She shakes her head, licking her lips, as she watches him head down the hall. It was so hard to resist the offer.

**************************************

The pair focused their eyes on television, watching the battle for the lead come down to the final stages. They were already yelling at the TV and back and forth in regards to the previous pair of restarts. Brad insisted that Christopher Bell jumped one of them. Juliette insisted that Chase Bricoe should’ve restarted as the leader for the second.

“Caution!” The commentators let out, causing looks of confusion as to what could be the cause, and who was leading.

“I swear to gosh….” Brad starts, knowing he’d scream if it was a stupid reason.

“Holy crap Peters!” Juliette lets out as they show a replay of Timothy Peters’ flip. Not a bad reason for a caution. “Glad that he’s okay because that was….Holy!”

“Good to see him moving around.” They then watch as TV waits for the replay and call of who won the race.

“And we’re hearing Christopher Bell is tonight’s race winner,” the broadcaster says, causing Brad’s jaw to drop. They then show a clip of the fence caution lights going on, with Christopher and Chase side-by-side.

“Bell won?!?” Juliette questions as she sees a blue bumper barely ahead. “That’s horseshit! Are you sure Kyle is not paying off NASCAR?”

“I have no idea,” Brad says, shaking his head. “There is no way that Christopher won. Chase’s bumper is clearly ahead as the fence lights up. There is no way…..”

“I’ve said before the officials are blind, but they are more certainly blind tonight!” They then see the clip of Buddy Sisco on pit road, yelling with the official.

“I’ve never seen Buddy fired up like that, but I don’t blame him. There is no way….”

“This is ridiculous! First, they suspend crew members for a simple mistake on pit road due to how they wrote their dumb rule about secure lug nuts, and now this? Seriously, how much is Kyle and Toyota paying NASCAR?” Brad shakes his head in disbelief, though then holds his breath as he watches them interview his driver. Surprisingly, Chase took the calm level-headed approach, and didn’t say anything out of turn.

“He handled that a lot better than I would’ve. I would’ve been fuming!” Brad then stands up, snatching his phone off the table as he texts Buddy, along with a couple other crew members. “This is ridiculous…”

“Please tell me that Buddy is marching into the hauler right now to yell at NASCAR?!?” Brad shakes his head yes, reading the response. “I mean, you can’t tell me that Christopher won based on that crappy replay….”

“I know, I know. Buddy is going to see what he can do…” Brad then grabs a drink from the fridge, before plopping back on the couch with Juliette. They wait awhile in silence, rolling their eyes as Christopher is interviewed in victory lane. It took around six minutes, but Brad’s phone went off. “Hello?” Juliette looks over, watching Brad’s facial glances, knowing that he was talking to Buddy about the conversation with NASCAR. It seemed pretty obvious that perhaps the right call was made and Christopher was the winner. However, Juliette could only look on confused at the thought as she watched Brad hang up after awhile.

“Well?”

“NASCAR timestamps the video and they mark exact time they throw a caution – hour, minute, second. They showed Buddy the timestamp to match and boom, Christopher was ahead. The caution actually flew two seconds earlier. The lights are on delay.” Juliette’s jaw drops in shock.

“Seriously?” Brad shakes his head yes. ”Well somebody should tell Eddie Gossage to fix his damn lights so they do a better job, or stick ‘em up his ass.” Brad chuckles as he takes to twitter, explaining things in a couple of tweets. He knew it was only fair to apologize for what he said earlier, especially since he respected Christopher.

“You aren’t the only one saying that…..”

“I’m the only one that will take the damn bulb and stick it there, though.” Brad chuckles again as he finishes up with his last tweet, setting his phone down and turning his eyes on her.

“How about instead of doing that you focus your energy on me?” She smiles as she grabs him by his shorts, pulling him right close to her and kissing his lips.

“They are – but only because Juliette stepped in. Let’s just say that she tried to bite my teammate a week and a half ago.” Edward’s jaw drops in surprise, though he had to admit it wasn’t totally a worst case scenario. He remembered when Bella met his family for the first time.

“How did that come about?”

“He came to my motorcoach for a band-aid as his finger was bleeding. A bit dropped on the floor, and she smelt it before going for a bite. I pushed him out of the motorcoach and her way, while Juliette grabbed her.” Edward was thankful for the quick movements by both, only wondering as to what would’ve happen should the teammate been bitten.

“What was his reaction?” Brad remembered the pair of conversations clearly. It was why he called Edward.

“Caught off-guard, scared, fearful, wondering whether he should even spend time around myself and Melody. He questioned it twice to me. Let’s just say that it wasn’t the most settling experience. Now, Joey is my best friend and we spend a ton of time together. I can’t be having this happen, especially not again.” Edward understood the concern, remembering the concerns he had surrounding Bella before he eventually bit her.

“As long as you keep her away during the full moon hours, and make sure there’s no more bloody sightings, there shouldn’t be a problem.” Brad took in those words, wanting to leave the topic alone.

“There shouldn’t be? I want a guarantee.” Edward lets out a sigh, wishing he could do that.

“Look, there’s a 95% chance of nothing hap-”

“But there’s a 5% chance that she’ll go after him again? Do you realize this isn’t a chance that I want to take?” Edward could only sigh once again.

“I get that. However, nobody has ever done this before – werewolf and vampire. Nobody knows how that’s going to mix and affect things. Hence why I can’t give you perfection. I know it’d be fine vampire world, but I don’t know how being a werewolf affects that.” Brad could only shake his head in response, accepting.

“Sometimes I just wish we didn’t have to deal with this at all. I just wish there was something I could do and it’d magically go away. It becomes more a problem than a good thing. The worst part is trying to make people like Joey, Brittany and Paul understand.” Edward could only symphasize, remembering his experience with Bella’s father.

“Give it time. As they learn more and see that things aren’t as strange or weird as they seem, or at least somewhat more balanced than given credit for, they’ll get it. I know it’s stressful and painful at times, but it’ll be fine. Besides, I think they can all attend the wedding without fear of incident.” Brad lets out a sigh as he knew that was now just over a month away, and yet plans hadn’t been finalized yet. “Bad topic?”

“Sometimes I just wish we could go to the local court house, get married and be done with it. Trying to balance ourselves with tradition is just pain staking at times.” Edward smiled as he remembered his and Bella’s wedding together.

“You’ll figure it out. You both always do.”

At home, Juliette sat on the couch, holding Melody in her arms as she rubbed her back.

“You know, your ears are sort of cute,” she comments, seeing the werewolf formation of her ears. “Perhaps cuter than your father…”

“Dada…” Melody says as Juliette just smiles, holding her tighter.

“Yeah, dada. You’re like your dad in many ways sweetheart.” She then glances down, noticing something tickling her by her stomach, laughing as a little tail sticks out. “Oh Melody….”

“Race…race…” During days like this, she’d just jabber random words, not noticing a single thing different despite furry ears and a tail. The only ones who noticed the difference was those around her.

“Yes, sweetheart. We get to see daddy race this weekend.” Juliette glanced at the calendar, knowing it’d all fade away that night with the full moon phase over for May. In a way, she was glad as it brought some normalcy back to their lives. However, she had to admit that she was cute with it.

Brad gets done his media interviews, before making his way through the garage area.

It felt weird without Juliette being there that weekend as normally they’d talk about the night, get ready to head home together, before leaving the track. Though with her being home with Melody, it left him to his own devices.

He was all prepared to get ready to leave, excited to see both his girls once again, though knew he had to make a stop somewhere else first. He makes his way into the motorcoach lot, past his own motorcoach before stopping at his teammates.

He takes a deep breath, knocking, knowing he couldn’t leave without stopping by first. He watches the door open before him, focusing on the eyes before him.

“Hey,” Joey says as he moves back, allowing Brad to enter with ease.

“Hey,” Brad simply replies, knowing nothing else would fit with the somber mood in the room. “I just wanted to stop by and see how you are. That was a wicked crash….” Brad hadn’t seen what happened exactly, but he heard from his team that Joey had something break, causing him to turn into Danica and crash both into the wall. Aric then had nowhere to go, joining the party. He saw the cars as they drove back through the turn during clean-up, shaking his head immediately.

“I’m fine, physically.” Brad shakes his head, easily accepting, as he gives his teammate the once over. He couldn’t help but pick-up on the tone of Joey’s voice, though.

“Beyond that, though?” Joey sits down on the couch, having not talked about it much except to Brittney.

“That shook me up, Brad. I was scared as ever for Danica. I was scared as ever for Aric. It’s great to see her walk away, and Todd said that Aric was talking on his radio. But that scared me probably more than any other wreck has ever, and I was really worried there.” Brad shakes his head, understanding once again. He could see that easily on Joey’s face.

“It’s understandable with how hard each of you hit. We know the risk and danger, but everybody hates to see that happen. Those wrecks are reminders of the danger, and even if we want to kill each other at times, we do care. I would’ve acted the same way, Joey.” Joey then looks up at Brad.

“So why is it that I will be like this now for the next 24 hours, and then put it behind me like nothing happened? It doesn’t seem right…” Brad sits down beside Joey, trying to think back to moments in his career in the same shoes.

“Because that’s what we do. The drive for success, the desire for speed forces us to put everything else out of the rearview. We remind ourselves that everything is as safe as it’s ever been, and the risk is worth it for what we want. That’s how it’s always been. The day a driver can’t do that…..well, we know the result.” Brad then puts a hand on Joey’s leg. “Look, don’t kick yourself in the butt over the change in heart when it happens. It’s the make-up of racer. It doesn’t make you less human or an asshole. It’s just who we are.”

“Yeah, I guess…” Brad then looks up as he watches Brittany walk out of the back, all set to leave, as he stands up himself.

“It’ll make sense. Give it time. You’re still dealing with the initial shock…” Joey shakes his head, knowing that Brad was right.

*****************************

Brad looks in the mirror, adjusting his jacket and tie, before walking through the house.

While Danny stopped by to babysit, the couple was getting to go out for a date night. For both, it was a special night being Sherry’s Catwalk for a Cause. Juliette could recall the days she helped Sherry with the first couple, while Brad always enjoyed seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces.

“Juliette, are you ready?” He questions out loud, knowing that she was in the bathroom, finishing up her make-up.

“Yep!” She replies, coming out of the bathroom. She slips her heels on, before making her way into the front foyer where Brad was waiting for her. As she came around the corner, his jaw dropped immediately as he took in her appearance. “Oh no…” She then glanced down at her dress, wondering if she should’ve chose something different. “It’s the dress, isn’t it?”

“The dress, you – everything together…” Brad was having trouble finding words to say, which was odd for him.

“Is it that ba-”

“Bad? Oh hell no! Let me just tell you that you look absolutely stunning!” A smile immediately forms on her face, as she spins around in a circle. She had chosen to go with a mid-tone red dress that went down to just above the knees. Tank-top style at the top, it tucked in at the waist virtue of a band that blended into the dress being the same color, followed by flaring out a touch in the bottom. She then chosen to go with three simple gold bracelets, along with her gold necklace from her childhood to top it off.

“Why, thank you…” She then walks up to him. “You don’t look so bad yourself, Mr. Keselowski.” She then leans in and kisses his lips as he wraps his arms around her. The pair remain lip-locked as she pushes him back against the wall, hands working their way underneath the edge of his shirt. “You actually take my breath awa-”

“You both realize you’re not alone right?” A voice reigns from the living room. They both immediately separate, trading smiles as they fix their outfits back to perfection.

“Sorry,” Brad apologizes as he glances into the room. “She just looked so stunning…” Danny smiles as he looks over at his sister.

“That dress does look good on her,” he compliments his sister as she gives him a quick nod.

“We’ll be back around 11. If you have any proble-”

“Just go. I’ll be fine.” Brad then takes Juliette’s hand with his, and the pair head out ready for a fun night.

Joey walks out of Brad’s office, feeling more stunned than ever by the conversation. He heads down the hallway, in a daze, trying to erase the image that formed in his mind.

“You look like you seen a ghost…” Brittany comments as Joey enters his own office.

“You could say that,” Joey replies as he sits in his chair, still caught off-guard. Brittany keeps her eyes focused on her husband, feeling puzzled herself. It wasn’t like Joey to be stunned.

“Well, what’d you see?” Joey didn’t know whether he wanted to repeat the details or not. He was worried that Brad would be upset if repeated – unsure whether it should be spread, and worried as to Brittany’s reaction. What if that ended the hang-out time they all had together?

“I’d rather not say…” Brittany lets out a sigh as she sits in the chair in front of Joey’s desk. She was becoming a little annoyed over the past couple of days.

“On Sunday, you return to the motorcoach after going to get a band-aid a little awkward and say it was just something strange that you saw, nothing new for Talladega. Then you come to your office and look completely stunned. Something is going on, Joey…” There was no lying that she was right in her comments as a lot was happening around them.

“Well, I can’t tell you, okay?” She glanced away, almost feeling as though her heart had been pulled apart by those words. What happened to total honesty when they got married?

“It’s about Brad and Juliette, isn’t it?” Joey glances up and shakes his head yes. He knew if he continued to give no details that she may freak out on him. “Well, strange and shocking is no surprise with them from what I’ve heard. I mean, what else do you expect when you’ve got a werewolf and a vampire?”

“What is your take on that, by the way?” Brittany shrugged her shoulders, though had to admit she found herself on pins and needles when she was around them at times.

“They’re both great people. I have a nice friendship with Juliette.” Joey knew by her tone that she was avoiding the topic, which made it even more important to keep quiet.

“Brittany, you know what I’m talking about….” She glances away and he knew there was no way that he could pursue the topic further. “With that reaction, I’ll just keep this quiet then.”

“Why?” He knew he was testing waters with big certainty in this discussion.

“Because you don’t need to know.” He then flipped through some of the papers on the desk, wishing they could discuss something else. “Did you hear that the appeal got deni-”

“You’re changing the topic, Logano.” He then froze at the mention of his last name. “Now, what the hell is going on?” He felt himself froze on the spot, debating whether to say something.

“Promise you’re not going to freak out?” She felt herself come over with unease, wondering if she should start running or checking for bite marks.

“I promise….I suppose….” Joey takes a deep breath as he thinks it over.

“Melody tried to bite me on Sunday. My finger was dripping, she tasted the blood and then went for the bite. Brad got me out of the way, while Juliette grabbed her.” Brittany froze at the mention of the words, feeling her own blood go cold and freeze at the thought. So much for game night.

“Do you realize what could’ve happened if she bit you?” Joey shakes his head yes, having been well aware of the fear. It was why he went to see Brad earlier. “I thought they both said there was nothing to fear with them and everything was fine, and no worries of human biting. That doesn’t look that one bit!”

“Brad said that Juliette is trained vampire who doesn’t go for human blood, but rather certain animals – that’s the same case for other vampires that you see, too. However, Melody hasn’t developed that yet. They can’t control her instincts for the first two years. She turns into werewolf when seeing a full man, goes for human blood once scented. By year two, these go away. By year five and six, they’re taught everything. And you don’t have to worry about me on the weekend because she won’t go after me unless she sees my blood.” Brittany rolled her eyes, knowing that she was supposed to feel comforted by those words. However, she knew that wasn’t possible. While she wanted to lash out at Joey and demand they keep their distance, she knew that wasn’t possible. Joey and Brad worked well together and that was needed for success, and he probably wouldn’t take well to being told otherwise. However, that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to keep her guard up.

“Duty noted. What about today?” It was on the tip of Joey’s tongue, but he knew that he couldn’t say it.

“I was just caught off-guard with the discussion that Brad and I had about it, that’s it.” Brittany shakes her head, accepting, which causes Joey to immediately relax in response.

“Well I held my promise not to lash out and kill you all, so you better damn well promise me to be careful.” He shakes his head, accepting.

Once everybody was done the post-race breakdown meeting, the drivers and crew members split up to their usual spots for a Monday afternoon. Joey was set to head back to his office, though instead made the short walk down to his teammate’s. He knocked on the door, causing Brad to glance up.

“You can always just let yourself in,” Brad says as he motions for Joey to walk in the room.

“I didn’t want to interrupt you if you were busy,” Joey replies as he enters, closing the door behind him. “Besides, I had to make sure Melody wasn’t here.” Brad then glances back up from his desk, surprised by the comment.

“I thought we were cool about that…” Joey takes a deep breath as he nears closer to the desk.

“We are. I mean, I’m fine. It’s just….” Joey takes another deep breath, trying to find the right words. “It freaked me out a little, okay? I was caught off-guard by that.” Brad could only begin to understand as he knew it was always a surprise when people learned more details of their lives.

“I get that reaction from anybody who sees something a little strange it seems.” Joey had sat nervously, though perked up at the comment. He was worried he had offended his teammate. “Look, I get that it’s not what you’d call normal. It’s something you just see in horror movies, right? It’s a reasonable reaction. You don’t have to dart around the topic with me, Joey. Heck, Juliette expressed concerns about the next time you come over.” Joey felt his stomach flip at that comment.

“Concerns?” Brad shakes his head yes, keeping his eyes focused on his teammate. He wanted to try and make him as comfortable as he could.

“We’d understand if you were nervous around her, didn’t want to hold her, keep your distance. I wouldn’t blame you one bit.” Joey knew that wasn’t quite what he was thinking by concerns.

“What about her behavior? Will she do that again?” Brad couldn’t be 100% certain, but had a perspective gained after discussion with Edward about the meetings he went through with humans, and raising his daughter.

“As long as there’s no blood that she can see or taste, then you’re safe. That’s why she attacked you – she tasted your blood, liked the taste and was set for more. Look at it this way – you know that you have great blood.” Joey knew Brad was trying to be light-hearted, but it just didn’t feel right in this moment.

“Geez thanks Brad. Next time I’m not sure how I’m doing, I’ll just let your daughter check me out.” Brad took his turn with a slight chuckle.

“Hey, vampires only go after good, clean human blood. They won’t touch any with a trace of sickness.” Joey was surprised by the detail, but figured he couldn’t blame them as it was about protecting themselves. “Listen, if you go see her today or tomorrow or anyday, you’ll be fine. You can also hold her without a problem. Just know that if there’s any blood at all from yourself, make sure to keep your distance.” Joey then felt confused by those words, as he noticed Juliette’s reaction.

“Juliette didn’t do anything at the sight of my blood….” Brad sits back in his chair, having grown used to explaining things to people.

“Juliette is a very trained vampire. She doesn’t go for human blood at one bit – actually doesn’t like the taste, strangely. She is only able to enjoy certain animal bloods by what she tells me. But she’s also trained herself to not attach to human blood, stay far off it – same with Edward and the Cullens. With Melody, that’ll come with time as she gets older.” Joey felt his stomach twist and turn as he tried to make sense of everything.

“So she’ll be willing to attack me if she sees blood for a long time?” Brad shrugs his shoulders, having listened to Edward’s explanation.

“For the first two years of her life, we can’t control her instincts at all. She turns into werewolf and howls at the sight of the full moon and around those days, which is this week. She instinctly goes after human blood because that’s what vampires love. As she enters year three of her life, all those go away and disappear under the surface as she continues to grow.” Brad then takes a deep breath, remembering the details. “Our beings grow smarter quicker than a human so by year five and six, we can understand things like control and ability. At that point is when training begins to withstand full moons, how to change on instant like I can, and also how to deal with blood thirst.”

“So for the first two years of her life, you need to keep her guarded because of that?” Brad shakes his head yes.

“That’s why Juliette won’t be there this weekend as we have no babysitter and its full moon week.” Joey finally felt like he was getting an understanding for everything. “Any questions you ever have, don’t hesitate to ask me. I’ll give you the answers that I know.”

“What about your wedding? I heard you’re keeping the guest list real low. Do I want to know what’s up there?” Brad shakes his head no, as he wasn’t quite sure yet either. “That bad?”

“It’s going to have tradition from both sid-”

“You guys are anything but the traditional couple, though.” Brad chuckles, remembering that comment from his siblings and Yolanda.

“We want to honor tradition, though, because it’s who we are. We haven’t quite decided what to include and what to do yet – hence why I can’t say much yet. But, when I do know, I will let you know. Oh, and you’re invited along with Brittany, Paul, Dale and Amy since all of you know.” Joey was about to simply agree, thought felt puzzled.

“Did Juliette somehow tell Dale when she was working for him?” Brad shakes his head no. “Then how does he know?” Brad could only wonder about how to tell that story from Talladega last season. He had to laugh at the teasing jokes from Dale, too.

“Let’s just say that Jason used him as a pawn to get mine and Juliette’s attention.” Joey’s jaw then drops as he thinks back to a year ago.

“So you killed him?” Brad then looks away. “Holy shit…”

“I had no choice. He was either going to hurt Dale, hurt me and go after Juliette and probably kill her. I had to do what was necessary for survival based on what he was doing.” Joey felt himself in total disbelief now, worse than when he entered the office. “I hated every minute of it and wished that we could’ve handled things differently. But that night, it was either him or me or Dale.”

“I get that. I know that’s not you. I know that it’s strange. It’s just….I can’t picture that.” Brad then sits up in the chair.

“Then don’t and forget you ever asked. Besides, that past with Jason is in the rearview and forgot about. As Juliette said, we’re not mentioning that ever again.” Joey just quietly shakes his head yes, letting it continue to soak in.

She didn’t care where they had finished – she was just glad that everybody was okay after the crash down the backstretch. Though with a glance at the scoring monitor, there were no complaints about a top-10 after getting crash damage.

Standing up, she began the normal post-race behaviors in the motorcoach. As Brad handled post-race media and other responsibilities, she’d normally get everything ready to go so he could enter, change, and they could jet off home together. While keeping one eye on Melody, she began packing everything that needed to go in the travel bag.

Almost done with the bag, she hears the door click open and looks back with a smile.

“Well, no win this time around,” Brad comments as he closes the door behind him. He then picks up Melody in his arms, swinging her around which is met with giggles. “Least you’re happy.”

“I’m just glad that you and Joey are okay after that madness on the backstretch,” Juliette says, causing Brad to cast a glance her direction. “I mean, what the heck was AJ thinking?”

“He was just trying to help Chase, but sometimes you mis-time your bumps. Joey did the same yesterday.” Juliette rolls her eyes as she focuses back on packing.

“Knowing what’s at stake, you’d think he’d double check they were aligned before hitting.” Brad sets Melody back down, allowing her to play as he walks over to Juliette.

“Let’s just say that you don’t have time to plan things exactly accordingly. You realize how fast we’re going, right?” Juliette shakes her head yes as she lets out a sigh and looks at him.

“Listen, just ignore me. It’s my nerves getting the best of me, honestly. I just hate stomaching these races.” He wraps his arms around her, giving her a kiss. “I’m proud of you and Paul for fighting back, though.”

“We had a good car. That certainly helps.” He then lets her go, letting her resume packing. He was set to go get changed and grab a quick shower, though hears the door open. “What the….” His comments are cut off when he sees Joey standing there, holding his finger.

“Do you guys have a bandaid?” He questions as blood drips from the finger to the floor.

“Yeah, I can get you one,” Juliette answers as she goes towards the bathroom.

“What’d you do?” Brad questions as he makes his way over to his teammate.

“Cut it on the edge of Brittany’s bag,” Joey answers. Brad was set to say something, though noticed Melody had made her way over to where the blood had dripped on the floor, wiping it up with her finger and licking it.

“Melody….” Brad turned to move his daughter away, though noticed a change in the color of her eyes. “Shit! Juliette!” As Melody goes to move forward towards Joey, Brad pushes his teammate back, letting Juliette grab their daughter and hold her back, despite tears.

“What the…” Brad continues pushing Joey back, grabbing a piece of Kleenex as they back out the door together. Brad then shuts it behind them, leaning back against with a sigh. “What the hell was that?”

“My vampirish daughter liked the taste of your blood and was set for a bite.” Joey then looks at Brad in total shock as he wraps the Kleenex around his finger.

“Seriously?” Brad shakes his head yes as Joey looks around, completely surprised. “I don’t get it. Juliette is a vampire and yet she didn’t feel any craving when she saw the blood, actually went into action and never has tried to bite a human. But yet, your daughter just about bit me?”

“As a baby, there’s no way to control urges – they just act upon bodily instinct and for a vampire, that’s blood. Hence why as she continues to eat normal human things and drink formula and milk like any other baby, she also has some blood each day to keep that in check for the most par-”

“Let me guess – close to feeding time?” Brad shakes his head yes as Joey continues to be in total disbelief. “I just….I don’t know….Wow….”

“Look, I’m completely sorry about this, Joey. We’re still learning about her urges and balancing both her vampire behavior and werewolf behavior. I never thought that she’d do that. I apologize sincerely and please don’t hold this against me, Juliette or Melody.” Joey debated in his mind whether to go full scary movie mode and yell, panic, cry – but also thought about it logically. It wasn’t like they had gone after him previously.

“It’s okay. It’s understandable. I’m beginning to understand around you that nothing is straight, and it’s just part of the drill. Just make sure you keep her fed so that doesn’t happen again, and I’ll try to keep my blood scent away from her.” Brad holds up his hand as he feels himself relax in knowing there was understanding.

“You have my word, I swear. I’m doing everything that I can to make sure we balance this properly.” He then opens the door slightly, grabbing the bandaid that Juliette left by the door and handing it to his teammate. “Here’s what you asked for. I hate to leave you hanging, bu-”

“Go on…” Brad then heads inside as he looks towards Juleitte and Melody, sitting on the couch together as Melody drinks a bottle.

“We can’t ever let that happen again. We have to do whatever it takes to make sure that doesn’t happen again. Joey is at least forgiving enough to let it go, but what if that was someone else who doesn’t know or isn’t?” Juliette looks up from Melody, shaking her head in agreement.

“I’ll have a long talk with Edward this week and make sure that we sort out any of these issues for the future,” Juliette assures him. “Trust me; that scared me as much as it scared you.” Brad then walks over, sitting down beside her. “Are you sure Joey is okay?” Brad shakes his head yes.

“We knew there’d be issues and concerns,” Brad starts. “Now we just better handle it accordingly. That could’ve gotten ugly real quick.” Juliette knew that as she could only picture the thought if Melody had actually bit Joey.

“Maybe we need to hold off the wedding till we make sure we have everything under control with Melody.” Brad then looks at her surprised. “I mean, I don’t want this to happen again either, and it deserves a full focus. How are we supposed to plan a wedding while we worry and care for her?” Brad knew her concerns were valid, but didn’t want to wait any longer to call Juliette his wife. He had to already wait a couple years to get together.

“No – we’re getting married as scheduled. We can handle all of this accordingly.”